The Associated Press

LEXINGTON - Transylvania University awarded bachelor's degrees to 200 students at commencement Saturday.

During the ceremony, Transylvania board of trustees chairman William T. Young Jr. announced that the board had voted to name the school's art building in honor of school president Charles L. Shearer.

Shearer presented the graduating students with their diplomas.

The commencement address was given by Larry T. McGehee, who is an administrator and professor at Wofford College.

McGehee, a former administrator and faculty member at Transylvania and the universities of Alabama and Tennessee, told the graduates that the "shadow of Transylvania" will remain with them throughout their lives.

Young, a Lexington businessman and philanthropist, received an honorary doctor of laws degree during the ceremony.

He announced that the school's trustees, at their regular meeting Friday, had voted to honor Shearer by naming the art building after him.

Shearer has been Transylvania's president since July 8, 1983. During his tenure, enrollment has risen from 650 students to just over 1,100 and the endowment has grown from a few million dollars to more than $100 million.

"Today, we are recognizing a man who has led Transylvania for 20 years and who has arguably contributed more to this university than any president in the school's history," Young said.